By Prof. Jose Maria Sison
Chairperson, International League of Peoples’ Struggle

At the center of the world capitalist system, the current of fascism is running high. It is whipping up the terrorism scare, racism, xenophobia, anti-migrant prejudices and religious bigotry. The Republican and Democratic parties keep moving towards the Right, egged on by ultra-Rightist groups and sections of the corporate mass media.

The finance oligarchy and the military-industrial complex are deliberately generating the fascist current and its various ingredients in order to conceal the root cause of the financial and economic crisis, to cover up their criminal culpability, to shift the burden of crisis to the proletariat and the people and to scapegoat the anti-imperialist and peace activists, the immigrants, the people of color, the Arabs and Muslims.

The fascist current took a new ugly turn when on Friday, September 24, 2010 the FBI raided at least six houses in Chicago and Minneapolis and began a US-wide intimidation campaign of activists who work with organizations such as the Palestine Solidarity Group, Students for a Democratic Society, the Twin-Cities Anti-War Committee, the Colombia Action Network, the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and the National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera (a Colombian political prisoner).

US military troops masquerading as actors in humanitarian missions have been repeatedly exposed as having overtly participated in Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) combat operations against the New People’s Army (NPA) in different areas in the country, as well as against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Mindanao.

The US Counter-Insurgency Guide confirms military assistance to “affected governments” like the Philippines in defeating the Communist Party of the Philippines, New People’s Army, and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (CPP-NPA-NDF), which it calls “terrorist”. It is also a reassertion of US imperialism’s containment and engagement policy against its economic rivals in East Asia and the Pacific, to secure its geo-political interest in the region.

The 1st Pulang Bagani Company-New People’s Army launched a series of attritive actions against operating troops of the 1003rd Brigade-10th Infantry Division-Armed Forces of the Philippines in Paquibato District, Davao City. These NPA harassment operations are punitive actions for the destruction and grave abuse of authority the enemy has inflicted on the people’s lives and livelihood.

Eighteen enemy soldiers were killed and more than 10 others were severely wounded following the back-to-back tactical offensives launched by the Red fighters of the Conrado Heredia Command-Front 20 Operations Command of the New People’s Army 27 and 28 August in Cateel and Boston towns in Davao Oriental.

A brigade-sized combat operation involving the Armed Forces of the Philippines´ 25th Infantry Battalion and 67th Infantry Battalion of the 1001st Brigade, and a formation of the Scout Rangers Company, were engaged by Red fighters in two separate ambushes, resulting to enemy casualties amounting to an undersized platoon.

The following August 13th statement from Jorge “Ka Oris” Madlos, spokesperson of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines-Mindanao is being reposted here from the Philippine Revolution Web Central:

All the four divisions under the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) based in Mindanao are currently conducting massive and widespread military operations against the revolutionary forces in all the five NPA regions in the whole island, particularly more intense in the Southern Mindanao Region. These began prior and during the inauguration of Noynoy Aquino, and continued before, during and after Noynoy Aquino’s SONA, and still escalating almost without let-up and without rest of troops in between operations.

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) today lambasted US Ambassador Harry Thomas for “lying through his teeth” when he claimed yesterday that US troops in the Philippines are not engaged in combat operations in the Philippines.

The CPP said “The US government is actively waging a multi-dimensional interventionist war in the Philippines. US troops are actually engaged in military operations in the country, starting from the provision of advice and training, sending ‘humanitarian assistance forces,’ in the country providing logistical, intelligence and combat support to local puppet troops, or actual engaging in covert combat operations.”